Bloomberg - "Debt Market in `Pivotal' Test as $140 Billion Matures" (9-10-07)

"Corporations need to refinance almost $140 billion of commercial paper in Europe by the end of next week and will increase borrowing costs for companies, according to Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank. 'This could be a pivotal seven to 10 days,' Jim Reid, a credit strategist at Deutsche Bank in London, wrote in a note to investors today. 'This will inevitably lead to wider corporate spreads, especially in high yield.'"

Bloomberg - "Global Growth Threatened as U.S. Contagion Spreads" (9-10-07)

"This time, when the U.S. sneezes, the rest of the world may well catch a cold. Global economic growth looks likely to slow markedly in the months ahead as further weakness in the U.S. infects Asia and Europe. That would represent a shift from the last 18 months, when the world economy proved immune to a U.S. slowdown and grew at an annual clip of more than 5 percent."

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Will Cut Interest Rates Twice, Survey Shows" (9-10-07)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, chastened by the first drop in employment in four years, will be forced to cut interest rates at least twice this year, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The unexpected weakness in the labor market, which has helped the expansion survive the housing slump, will compel officials to put aside concerns about inflation, economists said. The Fed will lower its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 5 percent next week, and then reduce it to 4.75 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the median forecast of 66 analysts in Bloomberg's monthly survey."

wcbstv.com - "Housing Market Slump Forces Couple To Open" (9-10-07)

"New Rochelle neighbors told CBS 2 the house had originally been listed for $750,000 but didn’t sell even after the price had been dropped to $600,000. David Saperstein said, 'He couldn’t get his price, then he rented,' but a series of families came and went and the house fell into apparent neglect until new occupants apparently arrived two weeks ago."

Bloomberg - "Wall Street Credit Costs Soar on Spread to U.S. Rates" (9-10-07)

"Wall Street is getting no benefit from the biggest bond market rally in five years. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. faces higher borrowing costs today than it did in June, even after the steepest quarterly drop in U.S. Treasury yields since 2002 pushed interest rates down for everyone from Procter & Gamble Co. to AT&T Inc. Investors are so leery of Bear Stearns Cos. that its 10-year bonds trade at a discount to Colombia, the South American nation that's barely investment grade. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is being punished with a higher yield than Caterpillar Inc., the heavy-equipment maker."

Bloomberg - "Treasuries Rise as Lockhart Says Job Market Weakened in June" (9-10-07)

"Treasuries rose, pushing two-year note yields to the lowest since September 2005, as Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said job growth started weakening in June. The yields had their biggest two-day decrease in three years after a government report last week showed an unexpected drop in employment in August. The rally reflects increased optimism the Fed will cut its 5.25 percent benchmark lending rate at least a quarter-percentage point by this month's meeting in response to a slump in credit markets related to subprime mortgage losses."

Reuters - "Washington Mutual sees more 2007 loan losses" (9-10-07)

"Washington Mutual Inc said on Monday that most U.S. housing markets are weakening, creating a 'near perfect storm' that may force the largest U.S. savings and loan to set aside more money for bad loans. Chief Executive Kerry Killinger said the thrift may set aside $500 million more for loan losses than the $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion it had forecast in July. Any increase would be Washington Mutual's fourth this year."

Yahoo - "Moody's Warns Housing Slump Will Persist" (9-10-07)

"Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service said Monday it expects the housing-market slump to last at least until 2009, likely precipitating numerous ratings downgrades at publicly traded homebuilders. 'Our current thinking is that the downturn, currently two years in the making, will last until 2009, with any sector recovery likely to be sluggish for some time after that,' said Joseph Snider, senior credit officer at Moody's."